SOME VICTIMS OF COMMUNIST REGIME TO RECEIVE

UNCLAS TIRANA 000338 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL AL SUBJECT: SOME VICTIMS OF COMMUNIST REGIME TO RECEIVE COMPENSATION ¶1. (SBU) On May 28, the GOA published the second of two lists of individuals who were persecuted under the Communist regime and are entitled to compensation from the state. The lists were prepared by the Ministry of Justice and approved by the Council of Ministers and are now in the hands of the Ministry of Finance, which is responsible for allocating the compensation. According to the Council of Ministers decision, each individual would receive one to ten million Lek (USD 1,000 to 10,000) as compensation in equal installments over eight years. The first list of the persecuted was published on March 16 and combined the two lists number 3,198 individuals. Initially more than 10,000 names were put forward to receive compensation but the lists were reduced considerably by the GOA. (Note: The exact criteria for being on the list are not clear. End note.) Adrian Kati, Executive Director of the Albanian Rehabilitation Center for Trauma and Torture, estimates that about 18,000 individuals are still living today that should be eligible for some sort of compensation due to mistreatment under the Communist regime. ¶2. (SBU) Despite the approval of the first list in March and the GOA's statement that USD 30 million is available to compensate this group only 800 have received any compensation, according to Kati. He blamed bureaucratic inertia and incompetence for the GOA's slowness in making the payments. In an attempt to draw attention to their plight, the Kati's ARCT marked the National Day of the Former Political Prosecuted on May 21 with a ceremony that drew attendance from the DP, the President's office, the diplomatic corps, and religious bodies. During the speeches, President Topi's representative said that payments should be made as quickly as possible, however the DP representative announced that only USD 12 million is available in 2009 for this program instead of the USD 30 million promised earlier in the year. He did not elucidate what happened to the other USD 18 million. ¶3. (SBU) Comment: After 17 long years, this unfortunate group may finally receive some compensation for the angst, punishment, and pain that it had to endure during the Communist regime. Compensation at this point for many of the victims may seem a small token, but it is important for the GOA and Albania as a whole to attempt to come to terms with its past and this is one small step in that direction. The fact that the lists were published less than six weeks before the elections and payments began being made a few months before the elections is no big surprise, given the fact that everything is political these days. Prime Minister Sali Berisha's Democratic Party (DP) has long seen victims of the communist regime an important part of its base. Whatever the motives for GOA actions, many recipients, according to the ACRT at least, are relatively happy with the payments. WITHERS